It wasa lady paramedic. I have her name on my other PC but that would mean moving again!

Went to Poon and had a ball. Left Wednesday and took a very scenic route....discovered I hate riding in sand (read lack of experience/ability) Rained on Friday night while holding up the verandah at the pub and continued on through a very steamy night......anyway, decided I wouldn't risk heading out to Mungo with fear of being rained in.....due back at work Monday 0800 after a month's leave.....anyway, long story short just kept riding yesterday and blasted all the way home. Now suffering with dreaded "man-flu"....

Gags

__________________“Adventure can be an end in itself. Self-discovery is the secret ingredient...” ― Grace Lichtenstein

I went to the Little Desert to try out my DRZ400 in sand with a about 20L fuel load and Mitas E-09 tyres.

I expected that it would be difficult but understeer was an issue.( big time) I had about 10 psi front 12 psi rear but unless I was up the front of the pack ( 12 riders) the DRZ was a handful once a few bikes had passed me.
The rear brake seeme dineffective as well . Too slow to activate so that made rear wheel turning non existant.
It seems I crested a small rise , the front dug in and spat me off and I face planted into the sand. I guess I hyper extended my neck and now I have pins and needles in my C6 C7 distribution ( thumb and fore finger). I could not use my right leg so I though it wa seither fracture or a pelvis. I rolled onto my side and refused to shift.

The DSMRA guys called for help on 000 and we had GPS co-ordinates plus PLB as a back up.
SES brought in the ambos by 4WD and they called the copter to air lift me to Melbourne.

I am home now with a pin in my Tibia and on crutches for 6 weeks and a cervical collar to support my neck and stop me turning it much ( PIA thing it is).

If I had taken my Yamaha WRF290 I probabaly would have not stacked it. Such is life!

I am experinced in riding sand, but it can still spit you off. I light powerful enduro/MX machine is ideal, but adventure bikes have too much weight up high. They are a handful. Power on and clamp your legs to the tanks usually works.

I am experinced in riding sand, but it can still spit you off. I light powerful enduro/MX machine is ideal, but adventure bikes have too much weight up high. They are a handful. Power on and clamp your legs to the tanks usually works.

Yeah and this makes me want to get sand experience seeing as I ride an even heavier DR650, Safari tank which pushes about 35L maxed out, panniers and some light camping gear.........oh well there goes aspirations of a Simpson trip.....

__________________“Adventure can be an end in itself. Self-discovery is the secret ingredient...” ― Grace Lichtenstein

I was toying with fiting a steering damper prior to the APC rally anyway. TK thought that it made the DRZ more controllable project bikes In Sidetrack .

I think a good front tyre makes a lot of difference in sand. My favourite is a Michelin S12.

With all the rally gear on board you need to keep your speed down and put up with the bike wobbling. Use the throttle to straight it up now and again. You can drag the rear brake to help the bike tuck in to a corner and back off the throtle a bit to slow down before a corner. Keep your wieght back and grip hard with your knees and not so much with your arms.

I was toying with fiting a steering damper prior to the APC rally anyway. TK thought that it made the DRZ more controllable project bikes In Sidetrack .

I think a good front tyre makes a lot of difference in sand. My favourite is a Michelin S12.

With all the rally gear on board you need to keep your speed down and put up with the bike wobbling. Use the throttle to straight it up now and again. You can drag the rear brake to help the bike tuck in to a corner and back off the throtle a bit to slow down before a corner. Keep your wieght back and grip hard with your knees and not so much with your arms.

Practice a lot on Mt Clay or at Digby.

Yes, OB-1......................I do need to get out and practice before I try that sand crap again....

__________________“Adventure can be an end in itself. Self-discovery is the secret ingredient...” ― Grace Lichtenstein

Yep, sounds good. No idea what it entails, but if it means riding and I'm about, I reckon I could manage!

I'll keep an eye on the other thread, but if you're happy to keep your ear to the ground Gags and rattle the cage when we need to do something, that'd be great!!

No probs there. I took part last year with a great ride from Geelong to Mt Eccles with an o'nite stop at inmate PrestonPaul's farm at Kennedy Creek. (Look up 2011 Cancer Ride thread).

If you are looking at the 2012 Cancer ride thread, watch for posts from MissJane as she has a fantastic ride route that will run through some fantastic tracks from NW of Melbourne into wombat/lerdederg forests, into the Grampians and we are going to work on getting from there into SA and beyond.

Cancer ride involves carrying a symbolic "Spanner" as a baton and handing it along to the next organised ride group. Obviously it is about raising some money for cancer research so there is scope for doing anything you like to try and achieve this. For last year, Paul donated some fantastic meals when we stayed at his place and we payed an appropriate donation of our choice. Overall, the relay that went mosty around Oz raised around $40K.

__________________“Adventure can be an end in itself. Self-discovery is the secret ingredient...” ― Grace Lichtenstein